Getting it all out of your system.

Brokers should look at systems as investments rather than necessary evils says Diane Smyth, who points out that success lies in finding the one best suited to your particular style of business.

The days of running an insurance intermediary on the back of an envelope are long gone and though brokers might question whether they ever existed, few would dispute the importance of broker systems in today's market. Fortis is the most recent insurer to insist that all brokers submit information using full cycle electronic data interchange but, as Tony Barker, marketing divisional director of CSC, says: "They won't be the last."

Broker systems should be seen as an investment rather than a